FREE GUIDED TOUR OF THE ROMANESQUE ROTUNDA FOR INDIVIDUAL GUESTS complete with digital experiences and Augmented reality (AR).
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UNWTO will work with the Municipality of Thassos in Greece to help the island rebuild its tourism sector in an inclusive way.
The new joint project will focus on two core issues, namely tourism marketing and community involvement in tourism on Thassos. The work is part of a wider focus to place local communities at the centre of tourism policies as the sector's recovery continues to gather pace.
As part of the collaboration, UNWTO will work with the Municipality to boost the diversity and resilience of tourism on the island.
This project is a great example of how UNWTO is working with communities to ensure that tourism is developed in a way that is beneficial to all
The joint work will also look at the perceptions, vision, and priorities of residents with regards to the development of tourism in Thassos
"We are delighted to be working with the Municipality of Thassos, Greece, on this important project," said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. "This project is a great example of how UNWTO is working with communities to ensure that tourism is developed in a way that is beneficial to all."
"With the present cooperation, the island of Thassos acquires international and up-to-date technical assistance "tools" related to tourism development" said Mayor of Thassos Eleftherios Kyriakidis. "We are generating knowledge to consult our policy of extroversion that is needed for a more sustainable tourism development in Thassos, taking always into account the natural environment, history, culture and local society."
Innovation, tourism for rural development and high-level cooperation were the focus of this week’s official visit of the UNWTO Secretary-General to Israel.
As a founding Member State, joining in 1975, Israel has played an active role in UNWTO's work and continues to serve on several important Committees and bodies. Following on from the official visit of Israel's Ministry of Tourism, to the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid in July, the UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili led a delegation to Israel for a series of high-level discussions around shared priorities.
In Jerusalem, Secretary-General Pololikashvili held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen. Mr Pololikashvili commended Israel's active role in tourism governance and its commitment to several UNWTO priorities for the sector.
Also in Jerusalem, Secretary-General Pololikashvili and the UNWTO delegation received a warm welcome at the Ministry of Tourism, to discuss the deepening of cooperation between UNWTO and Israel. Discussions focused on shared priorities for tourism both in the country and across the wider region, most notably education, innovations, sustainability, data collection, accessibility, legal instruments
To conclude the official visit, the UNWTO delegation visited Kfar Kama, named as one of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO in 2022. The village was given the award in recognition of its commitment to harnessing the power of tourism to preserve and celebrate its unique local culture. The Israeli village of Neot Semadar was also selected to be part of the Best Tourism Villages Upgrade Programme.
Recognizing Israel's focus on innovation and digital transformation, the UNWTO delegation met with leading representatives of the country's start-up community. Led by UNWTO Executive Director Natalia Bayona, the delegation worked with local innovators to identify the benefits that innovation and digital transformation can deliver both within tourism and in other economic sectors.
Wellness and health tourism stands ready to offer significant benefits for destinations worldwide – but will need coordination, investments and a skilled workforce to fully deliver on its potential. That was the key takeaway message as leaders from the public and private sectors met for the UNWTO Conference on Education and Skills in Medical and Wellbeing Tourism in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In organizing the conference within the framework of its 68th Regional Commission for Europe, UNWTO made clear the growing importance of health and wellbeing tourism as a pillar of growth and opportunity.
Health tourism helps destinations diversify, creating jobs, supporting businesses and extending these benefits to rural communities
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "Health tourism helps destinations diversify, creating jobs, supporting businesses and extending these benefits to rural communities. However, this part of our broad sector is especially reliant on skilled workers. As tourists' expectations rise, so too must the level of service destinations can provide."
In line with one of UNWTO's priorities for the sector as a whole, the conference focused on the vital importance of education and training in health and wellbeing tourism.
Recognizing the growing importance of health tourism in Europe and globally, UNWTO prioritizes the work in this field on acknowledging cultural and regional differences in taxonomy and understanding, implementing regulatory and ethical measures, measuring the impact of health tourism at national and domestic levels, promoting investments and cooperation, ensuring harmonized data collection, considering technological advances, involving governments to foster public-private collaboration, and generating knowledge at the intersection of tourism and health.
To conclude the conference, national stakeholders benefitted from a Masterclass focused on identifying the 'destination Unique Selling Point', with the cases of Czechia and Slovenia showcased as examples of effective marketing. The masterclass was followed by an interactive discussion.
In the wider context of health and tourism, UNWTO has been working closely with the World Health Organization to coordinate the measures and messaging throughout the pandemic. Recognizing that health, travel and tourism are deeply interconnected in the globalized world, UNWTO is currently establishing the UNWTO Global Working Group on Health and Travel & Tourism with the aim to draw the lessons from the COVID crisis to generate greater resilience within travel and tourism and to ensure preparedness in the face of future threats.